U.S. patent application number 16/962839 was filed with the patent office on 2021-01-28 for heat spreader and wave guide unit, and conveyor-type paint drying furnace comprising same.
The applicant listed for this patent is So Ang CHO, THREE TECH CO., LTD.. Invention is credited to Kuk Rae CHO, So Ang CHO.
Application Number | 20210023583 16/962839 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 1000005193246 |
Filed Date | 2021-01-28 |
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United States Patent
Application |
20210023583 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
CHO; So Ang ; et
al. |
January 28, 2021 |
HEAT SPREADER AND WAVE GUIDE UNIT, AND CONVEYOR-TYPE PAINT DRYING
FURNACE COMPRISING SAME
Abstract
A heat spreader and waveguide (HSWG) unit of the present
invention includes a main body having a ceiling portion and a wall
wherein the ceiling portion and the wall are provided with
waveguides, and one or more heat spreader modules in a space inside
the main body, wherein at least one waveguide among a waveguide
extending downward from one lower side of the heat spreader module
and an intermediate waveguide extending downward in a curtain
manner is further included, and each of the ceiling portion and the
wall is formed in a unit length so that a plurality of units is
combined to form a paint drying furnace. In the HSWG unit of the
present invention, the heat spreader module includes a housing
opened downward, and a radiant wave generator including a radiant
wave converter 111a and a heater is provided in the housing,
wherein the heater is provided in the radiant wave converter so
that thermal energy from the heater is converted into radiant wave
energy by a radiant wave conversion material applied to a surface
of the radiant wave converter and then is emitted.
Inventors: |
CHO; So Ang; (Busan, KR)
; CHO; Kuk Rae; (Changwon-si, KR) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
CHO; So Ang
THREE TECH CO., LTD. |
Busan
Busan |
|
KR
KR |
|
|
Family ID: |
1000005193246 |
Appl. No.: |
16/962839 |
Filed: |
January 15, 2019 |
PCT Filed: |
January 15, 2019 |
PCT NO: |
PCT/KR2019/000574 |
371 Date: |
July 16, 2020 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H05B 2203/032 20130101;
H05B 3/0038 20130101; F27D 3/12 20130101; B05B 15/00 20130101; B05C
9/14 20130101; F26B 15/12 20130101; F27D 2003/125 20130101 |
International
Class: |
B05C 9/14 20060101
B05C009/14; H05B 3/00 20060101 H05B003/00; F27D 3/12 20060101
F27D003/12; F26B 15/12 20060101 F26B015/12; B05B 15/00 20060101
B05B015/00 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Jan 17, 2018 |
KR |
10-2018-0005914 |
Claims
1. A heat spreader and waveguide ("HSWG") unit, comprising: a main
body 102 having a ceiling portion 104 and a wall 106, wherein the
ceiling portion 104 and the wall 106 are provided with waveguides
108; and one or more heat spreader modules 110 in a space of the
main body 102, wherein at least one among a waveguide 112 extending
downward from one lower side of the heat spreader module 110 and an
intermediate waveguide 118 extending downward in a curtain manner
is further included, and wherein each of the ceiling portion 104
and the wall 106 is formed in a unit length so that a plurality of
units is combined to form a paint drying furnace.
2. The unit according to claim 1, wherein the heat spreader module
110 includes a housing 111 opened downward, and a radiant wave
generator including a radiant wave converter 111a and a heater 111b
is provided in the housing 111, wherein the heater 111b is provided
in the radiant wave converter 111a so that thermal energy from the
heater 111b is converted into radiant wave energy by a radiant wave
conversion material applied to a surface of the radiant wave
converter 111a and then is emitted.
3. The unit according to claim 1, wherein, if the intermediate
waveguide 118 is provided, a plurality of holes 120 is formed in an
upper portion of the intermediate waveguide 118.
4. The unit according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein each
radiant waveguide is formed by attaching an aluminum foil or a mica
sheet to a base plate including a plate material, a fiber material
or a nonwoven fabric.
5. A conveyor type paint drying furnace formed by combining a
plurality of HSWG units 100 according to claim 1 in succession,
comprising: a trolley type conveyor 116, which suspends an object
to be coated on an upper side thereof and transports the same;
and/or a tray type conveyor 122, which stacks an object to be
coated on a lower portion thereof and transports the same, is
provided.
Description
FIELD OF INVENTION
[0001] The present invention relates to a heat spreader and
waveguide (HSWG) unit, and a conveyor type paint drying furnace
provided with the same. More particularly, the present invention
relates to a conveyor type paint drying furnace equipped with HSWG
units that can generate radiant waves by means of a high
performance radiant generator and then emit the radiant waves to an
object to be coated, which passes through the drying furnace in a
conveyor mode, thereby drying a coated portion of the object
quickly and uniformly.
BACKGROUND OF INVENTION
[0002] As the industry becomes more advanced, importance of core
material parts and product design is increasing. Especially, in the
case of automobiles and home appliances in close contact with
consumers, color design of the product is an important factor in
stimulating consumer psychology (or exciting consumer curiosity).
As a result, the product is frequently changed in color design and
promoted through TV and internet (including smartphones) to
increase consumer's desire for purchasing.
[0003] In addition, various kinds of paints for applying new and
creative color designs to the exterior of products such as liquid
coating, powder coating, electrodeposition, plating, etc. have been
developed. Further, coating techniques have made dramatic progress
from paint application using a brush and manual spray coating to
robot painting through automatic machinery.
[0004] However, after the above-described painting operation, a
coated surface of the product is not peeled off and durability is
enhanced only by quickly drying the coated surface. Accordingly,
the product is coated using paint such as liquid coating, powder
coating, electrodeposition, plating, etc. and then dried in a heat
drying furnace to dry the paint to be firmly adhered to the
product. Such a conventional heat drying furnace entails many
problems since it uses a hot-air drying furnace which adopts direct
and indirect convection of hot air generated by flame of a burner
to heat and dry the coated surface.
[0005] In other words, the conventional hot-air convection type
heat drying furnace not only entails high coating failure rate, but
also consumes a large amount of energy and greenhouse gas due to
use of the flame of the burner. In addition, a fresh time is
offered between steps in drying the painted product, hence causing
such problems that a time required for drying is long, a length of
the conveyor is long and a layout of painting equipment is
enlarged. Further, in the case of composite coating wherein various
coating methods are simultaneously applied, there is a problem that
drying cannot be executed in a single drying furnace.
[0006] In addition, temperature deviation in the drying furnace is
more than .+-.10.degree. C., and color change occurs on the coated
surface, thus causing a problem of coating failure.
[0007] On the other hand, as a result of investigation of prior art
relating to the present invention, the following patent literature
has been found.
[0008] Patent Literature 1 discloses a drying apparatus for
automobile paint booths to provide optimum working conditions and
convenience for realizing the same, wherein: a passage to supply
hot air is formed in a tubular shape to minimize heat loss when hot
air flows into the booth and to allow the hot air to more easily
flow owing to the tubular configuration; a fuel saving type
electric heater has improved configuration, instead of using a
burner type heater with high fuel consumption, so as to more
rapidly generate hot air and conserve energy; and an injecting
angle of nozzles for spraying the hot air is easily adjustable.
Patent Literature 2 discloses a system for drying a coated product,
comprising: a hot air guiding duct which guides and outputs hot air
from a hot blower side to an adjacent portion of an object to be
coated ("object") while being connected to a hot air supply duct; a
curtain to provide a hot air effective area, which covers the
periphery of the object while selectively ascending and descending
according to an operational status of the hot blower, so as to
limitedly define a series of hot air effective areas around the
object; a far-infrared ray output device which is arranged above
the object and outputs a series of far infrared rays according to
the operational status of the hot blower so as to improve a drying
speed of the object, wherein these components are arranged in a
systematic manner, whereby optimum drying conditions to minimize
heat loss of the hot blower and/or to maximize a drying rate and a
drying speed of the object may be induced and stably realized.
According to the above invention, such different problems annoying
the manufacturer that heat loss at the hot blower side is greatly
increased, a drying cost for the entire object is greatly
increased, a drying time for the entire object is considerably
delayed, production efficiency of the entire product (e.g., ship,
vehicle, airplane, etc.) is considerably deteriorated, an operation
rate of the entire coating process is greatly decreased, or the
like, may be efficiently prevented.
[0009] Patent Literature 3 discloses a multipurpose painting booth
with improved drying performance, comprising: a coating chamber
provided with a ceiling filter and a bottom filter; an air supply
device for supplying external air; an air exhausting device for
exhausting air in the coating chamber; and an aqueous dryer for
drying water-soluble paint, wherein an inner space of the coating
chamber is connected with an external air inflow passage in the air
supply device through a hot air recovery passage, and a damper is
provided in each of the hot air recovery passage and the external
air inflow passage wherein each damper is disposed at a suction
side of an air supply fan provided in the external air inflow
passage while arranging a suction duct of the aqueous dryer in a
hot dry air inflow space. According to the simple and rational hot
air recovery structure adopted as described above, external air
inflow as well as hot air circulation by the air supply fan can be
quickly and effectively induced and controlled by only two dampers;
hot dry air can be applied even in a blowing operation at a high
flow rate for drying the water-soluble paint, thereby improving
convenience and economic effects of using the paint booth,
increasing drying efficiency of different paints including
oil-based paint and water-based paint, minimizing waste of energy
due to a drying operation, and preventing dust scattering in the
coating chamber to thus greatly contribute to improvement of
working environment in the coating chamber as well as the coating
quality.
[0010] Patent Literature 4 discloses a paint drying apparatus,
comprising: a housing having a predetermined length and an internal
space formed therein; a chain mounted to be movable from one end of
the housing to the other end; a drive unit connected to one end of
the chain to move the chain; a speed control unit to adjust a
moving rate of the chain through the drive unit; a driven unit
connected to the other end of the chain; and a hot air supply unit
to supply hot air to an inner space of the housing, thereby
facilitating maintenance and smooth operation of the device.
[0011] However, in the prior art described above, coating failure
is still high, and other problems such as high energy consumption,
a large amount of greenhouse gas occurring due to use of burner
flame, a long time required for drying the paint, a long conveyor
length, enlarged layout of paint equipment, etc., have to yet be
overcome.
[0012] (Patent Document 1) KR10-0788503 B1
[0013] (Patent Document 2) KR10-2011-0123024A
[0014] (Patent Document 3) KR10-1320087 B1
[0015] (Patent Document 4) KR10-1481787 B1
SUMMARY OF INVENTION
Technical Problem to be Solved
[0016] The present disclosure has been proposed to overcome the
aforementioned problems, and an object of the present invention is
to provide a conveyor type paint drying furnace provided with an
HSWG unit that can reduce coating failure and energy consumption by
directly heating a dried surface, as an object to be dried, with
heat by radiant waves, instead of using air in a drying chamber, in
addition, that can allow rapid drying to reduce a layout of the
drying furnace and provide a pleasant and clean working
environment, as well as an HSWG unit for the above drying
furnace.
Technical Solution
[0017] In order to solve the above problems, according to an aspect
of the present invention, there is provided a heat spreader and
waveguide (HSWG) unit, including: a main body having a ceiling
portion and a wall, wherein the ceiling portion and the wall are
provided with waveguides; and one or more heat spreader modules in
a space of the main body, wherein at least one among a waveguide
extending downward from one lower side of the heat spreader module
and an intermediate waveguide extending downward in a curtain shape
is further included, and wherein each of the ceiling portion and
the wall is formed in a unit length so that a plurality of units is
combined to form a paint drying furnace.
[0018] In the HSWG unit of the present invention, the heat spreader
module may include a housing opened downward and a radiant wave
generator including a radiant wave converter and a heater provided
in the housing, wherein the heater is provided in the radiant wave
converter, and thermal energy from the heater is converted into
radiant wave energy by a radiant wave conversion material applied
to a surface of the radiant wave converter and then is emitted.
[0019] In the HSWG unit of the present invention, when the
intermediate waveguide is provided, a plurality of holes is formed
in an upper portion of the intermediate waveguide.
[0020] In the HSWG unit of the present invention, each of the
radiant waveguides is manufactured by attaching a mica sheet or an
aluminum foil to a base plate comprising a plate material, a fiber
material or a nonwoven fabric.
[0021] The conveyor type paint drying furnace according to the
present invention is formed by placing a trolley type conveyor,
which suspends an object to be coated on an upper side thereof and
transports the same, or a tray type conveyor, which stacks an
object to be coated on a lower portion thereof and transports the
same, in a paint drying furnace configured of a plurality of heat
spreaders and waveguides successively connected together.
Effect of Invention
[0022] Since the conveyor type paint drying furnace equipped with
the HSWG unit of the present invention directly heats a coated
surface using radiant waves without heating the air, coating
failure is reduced and energy consumption and greenhouse gas
generation are also reduced. Especially, temperature deviation in
the drying furnace may be reduced to within .+-.5.degree. C., so
that high quality coating is secured.
[0023] Further, according to the conveyor type paint drying furnace
equipped with the HSWG unit of the present invention, an energy
density of radiant waves is high, thus decreasing or eliminating a
fresh time for coating stabilization and a pre-drying setting time,
whereby a drying time is shortened and a layout is reduced to less
than half, while ensuring a pleasant and clean working
environment.
[0024] Further, conventionally, when a worker touches the object
after paint drying, scratches such as glove marks often occur and
this problem is easily solved. Further, a problem of scratches
occurring due to a wrapping paper, except when the coated object is
wrapped with a high quality wrapping paper, can be overcome.
[0025] Further, according to the conveyor type paint drying furnace
equipped with the HSWG unit of the present invention, exterior
parts after completion of composite coating can be dried all
together, whereby a development time or the entire process of
coating exterior parts having new designs may be efficiently
reduced.
[0026] Further, according to the conveyor type paint drying furnace
equipped with the HSWG unit of the present invention, a smart
drying furnace may be configured simply by replacing and disposing
the HSWG unit in a typical hot air drying furnace, thereby reducing
facility costs.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
[0027] FIG. 1 is a conceptual cross-sectional view illustrating a
first embodiment of the HSWG unit according to the present
invention.
[0028] FIG. 2a is a conceptual cross-sectional view illustrating a
heat spreader module part of the HSWG unit.
[0029] FIG. 2b illustrates a heater used in a heat spreader
module.
[0030] FIG. 3 is a conceptual cross-sectional view illustrating a
second embodiment of the HSWG unit according to the present
invention.
[0031] FIG. 4 is a conceptual cross-sectional view illustrating a
third embodiment of the HSWG unit according to the present
invention.
[0032] FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view conceptually showing a
waveguide disposed inside the heat spreader module of the present
invention.
BEST MODE
[0033] The heat spreader and waveguide (HSWG) unit of the present
invention may include: a main body having a ceiling portion and a
wall, wherein the ceiling portion and the wall are provided with
waveguides; and one or more heat spreader modules in a space of the
main body, wherein at least one among a waveguide extending
downward from one lower side of the heat spreader module and an
intermediate waveguide extending downward in a curtain manner is
further included, and wherein each of the ceiling portion and the
wall is formed in a unit length so that a plurality of units is
combined to form a paint drying furnace. Herein, the heat spreader
module may include a housing opened downward and a radiant wave
generator including a radiant wave converter and a heater provided
in the housing, wherein the heater is provided inside the radiant
wave converter, and thermal energy from the heater is converted
into radiant wave energy by a radiant wave conversion material
applied to a surface of the radiant wave converter and then is
emitted.
Detailed Description of Preferred Embodiments of Invention
[0034] Hereinafter, a heat spreader and waveguide unit ("HSWG
unit") and a conveyor type paint drying furnace equipped with the
HSWG unit according to the present invention will be described with
reference to the accompanying drawings FIG. 1 is a conceptual
cross-sectional view illustrating a first embodiment of the HSWG
unit according to the present invention.
[0035] The HSWG unit 100 of the present invention includes a main
body 102 wherein the main body 102 has a ceiling portion 104 and a
wall 106. The walls 106 on both sides may extend from each other to
form a bottom portion. The ceiling portion 104 and the wall 106 are
provided with a waveguide 108 on the inner surface thereof.
[0036] One or more heat spreader modules 110 are provided in a
space of the main body 102 and another waveguide 112 extending
downward from one lower side of the heat spreader module 110 is
included. The extended waveguide 112 may form a further radiant
wave conversion chamber at the bottom of the heat spreader module
110, thereby improving radiant wave generation efficiency. That is,
a radiant wave conversion chamber 110a to convert thermal energy
into radiant wave energy in the heat spreader module 110 is
provided to convert high temperature thermal energy into radiant
wave energy, and the extended waveguide 112 may form an additional
radiant wave conversion chamber 110b to maintain a higher
temperature in the radiant wave conversion chamber 110a, thereby
improving radiant wave conversion efficiency. Generally, a
waveguide allows an object to be efficiently irradiated and dried
with far infrared rays. That is, the waveguides 108 and 112 herein
may guide radiant wave energy of the far-infrared rays converted by
the heat spreader module 110 to the object to be dried in the
drying furnace without escaping from the drying furnace, and may
function to evenly distribute the radiant wave energy. Further,
each of the waveguides 108 and 112 is made of a known material
reflecting far-infrared rays, for example, the waveguide may be
formed by attaching an aluminum foil or a mica sheet to a base
plate comprising a plate material, a fiber material or a nonwoven
fabric. Herein, a shape or material of the waveguide may be
diversely adopted.
[0037] The ceiling portion 104 and the wall 106 of the HSWG unit
100 are formed in a unit length of, for example, about 1 to 1.5 m,
and a plurality of units is combined to form a paint drying
furnace. For example, a drying furnace having a length of 50 to 70
m may be formed by joining 50 HSWG units in succession. The unit
length may be increased or decreased as needed. In addition, width
and height of the HSWG unit may also be appropriately determined in
consideration of a size and coating characteristics of the object
to be dried. A conventional hot-air drying furnace may be remodeled
using the HSWG unit 100 so as to rapidly and easily fabricate a
smart drying furnace. Further, using the HSWG unit 100 of the
present invention may reduce a length of the conventional hot air
type drying furnace to at least half the original length.
[0038] A plurality of HSWG units may be connected to constitute a
drying furnace, which in turn may be provided with a trolley type
conveyor 116 to suspend and transport the object 114 to be dried in
the drying furnace. Far infrared rays are radiated from the heat
spreader module 110 in each HSWG unit 100 to dry a surface of the
object 114 while transferring the object 114 by the trolley type
conveyor 116.
[0039] FIG. 1 illustrates a state wherein four heat spreader
modules 110 are arranged in one HSWG unit. The number of heat
spreader modules 110 in one HSWG unit depends on heating, drying
and hardening temperatures of various paints, or a size of the
object to be dried.
[0040] Within the drying furnace having such a structure as
described above, a surface temperature of the object to be dried
may be adjusted usually in a range of 80 to 230.degree. C., and the
temperature is appropriately selected depending on the size of the
object to be dried and the coating properties thereof.
[0041] FIG. 2a is a conceptual cross-sectional view illustrating
the heat spreader module portion 110 of the HSWG unit.
[0042] The housing 111 of the heat spreader module 110 opened
downward is made of a heat insulating material and an inner surface
of the housing 111 is made of the same material as the waveguide.
The inner space of the housing 111 forms a radiant wave conversion
chamber 110a. A waveguide 112 extending downward from one lower
side of the housing 111 is provided, and may form a second radiant
wave conversion chamber 110b on the bottom of the housing 111 along
with the waveguide 108 at the wall 106 of the HSWG unit 100. The
extended waveguide 112 may prevent heat loss due to convection to
maintain a temperature of the radiant wave conversion chamber 110a
at a high temperature close to, for example, about 450.degree. C.
and may convert thermal energy into high density radiant wave
energy, thereby increasing conversion efficiency of the radiant
wave energy. In other words, the extended waveguide may allow
emission of high density radiant wave energy to increase a drying
speed. Further, the waveguides may enable radiant wave energy to be
distributed and evenly radiated without being directly concentrated
on the object 114 to be dried, thus attaining effects of reducing
temperature deviation on the surface of the object 114.
[0043] The first radiant wave conversion chamber 110a is provided
with a radiant wave generator including a radiant wave converter
111a and a heater 111b. The heater 111b is disposed inside the
radiant wave converter 111a. Thermal energy from the heater 111b
may be converted into radiant wave energy by a radiant wave
conversion material applied to a surface of the radiant wave
converter 111a and then emitted. The heater 111b used herein may be
an electrical pipe heater commercially available in the art.
[0044] Since thermal energy is converted into radiant wave energy
and then emitted, the object 114 to be dried may be directly heated
and dried without heating air around the object 114, thereby
remarkably improving thermal efficiency and a quality of the coated
surface.
[0045] FIG. 2b illustrates the heater 111b used in the heat
spreader module 110. The heater 111b used herein may be an
electrothermal heater. The heater 111b is usually mounted in the
radiant wave converter 111a in a pipe shape.
[0046] FIG. 3 is a conceptual cross-sectional view illustrating a
second embodiment of the HSWG unit according to the present
invention.
[0047] As in the first embodiment, the HSWG unit 100 of the second
embodiment may include a main body 102 having a ceiling portion 104
and a wall 106. Similarly, the ceiling portion 104 and the wall 106
are also provided with a waveguide 108 on an inner surface
thereof.
[0048] Further, one or more heat spreader modules 110 may be
provided on upper portions at both sides in a space of the main
body 102. The heat spreader module 110 includes a waveguide 112
extending downward from one lower side thereof. The heat spreader
module 110 may further be provided with an intermediate waveguide
118 which extends downward from the heat spreader module 110 to
evenly distribute radiant wave energy without being concentrated.
Either the extended waveguide 112 or the intermediate waveguide 118
may be included or, otherwise, both the extended waveguide 112 and
the intermediate waveguide 118 may be provided.
[0049] The intermediate waveguide 118 extends downward from the
heat spreader module 110, thus extending downward over at least a
portion of the object 114 to be dried. The intermediate waveguide
118 prevents radiant wave energy generated in the heat spreader
module 110 from directly and intensively irradiating the object 114
to be dried, thereby evenly emitting and distributing the radiant
wave energy.
[0050] A plurality of holes 120 is formed in an upper portion of
the intermediate waveguide 118. These holes 120 allow radiant wave
energy to be evenly distributed and radiated to the object 114 to
be dried.
[0051] FIG. 4 is a conceptual cross-sectional view illustrating a
third embodiment of the HSWG unit according to the present
invention.
[0052] The HSWG unit 100 of the present invention includes a main
body 102, and the main body 102 has a ceiling portion 104 and a
wall 106. The ceiling portion 104 and the wall 106 are provided
with a waveguide 108 on an inner surface thereof.
[0053] One or more heat spreader modules 110 may be provided on the
ceiling portion 114. The heat spreader module 110 includes a
waveguide 112 extending downward from one lower side thereof. The
extended waveguide 112 may be provided with an additional radiant
wave conversion chamber on the bottom of the heat spreader module
110, thereby further improving radiant wave generation efficiency.
In other words, the heat spreader module 110 may be provided with
the radiant wave conversion chamber 110a to convert thermal energy
into radiant wave energy, thereby converting thermal energy at a
high temperature into radiant wave energy. Further, the extended
waveguide 112 may be provided with an additional radiant wave
conversion chamber 110b to maintain a higher temperature inside the
above radiant wave conversion chamber 110a, thereby improving
radiant wave conversion efficiency. In addition, the extended
waveguide 112 may evenly distribute and emit the radiant wave
energy generated in the heat spreader module 110 over the object
114 to be dried. The waveguide 108 provided on an inner surface of
the wall 106 may be a waveguide 108 shown in FIG. 1, a protruding
waveguide or a shutter-type waveguide with adjustable height. The
object 114 to be dried may be successively transferred by a tray
type conveyor 108 on which the object 114 can be placed. The
successively transferred object 114 may be substantially evenly
irradiated and dried with radiant wave energy generated from each
of the heat spreader modules 110 in HSWG units 100 arranged in
succession.
[0054] FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view conceptually illustrating
waveguides disposed inside the heat spreader module of the present
invention.
[0055] A plurality of inclined waveguides 124 may further be
disposed inside the radiant wave conversion chamber 110b formed by
the extended waveguide 112 under the heat spreader module 110. The
inclined waveguide 124 is provided for more evenly distributing and
emitting the radiant wave energy generated in the heat spreader
module 110 in a longitudinal direction of the drying furnace.
[0056] The conveyor type paint drying furnace equipped with the
HSWG unit of to the present invention may be configured in various
forms according to a size of an object to be coated, heating
conditions, and the like. In other words, the drying furnace of the
present invention may be configured in diverse forms such as: a
small trolley type paint drying furnace having a tunnel height of
less than 3 m, which is optimized for drying an object coated by
painting, powder coating and water-soluble liquid coating after
plating at a relatively high temperature of 150 to 230.degree. C.;
a medium size trolley type paint drying furnace having a tunnel
height of 3 to 5 m, which is optimized for drying an object coated
by oil liquid coating at a relatively low temperature of 80.degree.
C.; or a tray conveyor type paint drying furnace, which is
optimized for completely hardening an object to be coated such as
automobile exterior parts by heating, drying and melting the object
at a temperature in a wide range of 80 to 230.degree. C. Further,
it is possible to simply replace a conventional hot air drying
furnace with the drying furnace equipped with HSWG units according
to the present invention. While the present invention has been
particularly illustrated and described with reference to exemplary
embodiments thereof, it is to be understood that the invention is
not limited to the configurations and functional effects of the
disclosed exemplary embodiments. On the contrary, it will be
understood by those skilled in the art that numerous alterations
and modifications of the invention are possible without departing
from the spirit and scope of the invention. Therefore, all such
modifications, alterations and equivalents are to be regarded as
being within the scope of the present invention.
INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY
[0057] The conveyor type paint drying furnace equipped with the
HSWG unit according to the present invention is capable of rapidly
drying a composite paint sample. Therefore, it is anticipated that
parts suppliers may develop exterior parts coated with new designs
and provide samples of the parts to any global automobile company
or household appliance company, thereby successfully receiving
orders for the samples. Consequently, it will be expected to
increase international competitive power of parts suppliers and
painting companies. Further, it is possible to re-model an existing
hot air convection type drying apparatus into one similar to the
conveyor type paint drying furnace of the present invention only by
applying the HSWG unit to the existing drying apparatus, thereby
reducing energy required for paint drying as well as greenhouse gas
emissions. Further, it is possible to reduce coating failure by
offering a smart paint drying furnace.
[0058] In addition, the inventive drying furnace may be helpful to
parts suppliers and painting companies as subcontractors of
automobile exterior parts in quickly and easily developing new
designs for external parts. Accordingly, when samples of newly
developed products are presented to global automobile manufacturers
for order receipt, the order may be easily received, which in turn
assists the parts suppliers and painting companies to evolve into
specialized color design exterior companies for automobile
parts.
* * * * *